2. home-theater
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2.0 or 3.0 or 4.0 for HT Movie Audio?

I'm simplifying my life on the audio end. Consolidation of my separate HT room and 2ch room to one room has me doing some out of the speaker-box thinking.

Just to be upfront, I do love 5.1 and this is what I would prefer, and may end up there anyways.

My question only applies to Blu Ray and DVD movie playback.

Curious if Audiogon Members have lived with and enjoyed any of these configurations, i.e.:

- 2.0 (L/R) or

- 3.0 (L/R/C) or

- 4.0 (L/R/SrL/SrR) [no center]

What have your experiences and impressions been? Any lessons learned?

Note: I'm keeping things simple by eliminating the subs; I am satisfied with the lf performance and extension I'm getting from my current speakers on movie sound tracks.

Thanks,

- David.
david_ten

Showing 2 responses by dbphd

Ag insider logo xs@2x
dbphd
1,616 posts
 
Our system is 5.1, but 4.1 seems to work just as well. We project onto a 100" screen, and the voices seems to come from the speakers' respective locations with just the L/R mains. I think it's important to match the voicing of whatever speakers you do use. We use the same system for 2.1 and 5.1 music as well as HT, letting the source determine the number of speakers that receive input. Our sources are CD/SACD from a Sony XA5400ES, DVD & Blu-ray from a PS3-80, and DirecTV HD-DVR.

I think a well integrated sub is important for both music and HT. For one thing, it relieves the amps and speakers from LF duty, and it can be difficult to set up speakers for both imaging and LF response.

db
Ag insider logo xs@2x
dbphd
1,616 posts
 
As noted in my 2/14 post, I'm using 5.1, but have found 4.1 just fine, given we sit at the apex of a near-field triangle. I've tried to match the voicing of the five channels by using speakers with the same model tweeter, and it seems successful. But I've been thinking of 7.1, and wonder if 6.1 might be the way to go. I'd use the speakers that now provide the center channel instead at the rear of the room. I have my doubts about how important it is to match the voicing of channels 6 & 7, but it couldn't hurt.

db
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